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Mini Bundt Cakes give you all the drama of a fluted showstopper in a personal size, tender orange cake studded with chocolate chips under a glossy chocolate glaze, and the batch I baked on a lazy Sunday disappeared before the glaze finished dripping. They are the single serving cousin of our yellow cake with chocolate frosting.
One bowl of batter, one mini bundt pan, and thirty minutes in the oven is all it takes.
Mini Bundt Cakes Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 30 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 45 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 8 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 565kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Bright orange zest and melty chocolate under a fudgy cocoa glaze
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, simpler than our marble cake
Quick Answer
Cream butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, then beat in vanilla sugar, eggs one at a time, salt, and fresh orange zest. Mix in the milk, add self rising flour until smooth, and gently stir in chocolate chips. Fill mini bundt molds, bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean, then cool the cakes bottoms up. Whisk powdered sugar, cocoa, milk, and chocolate hazelnut spread into a glaze and pour it over the cooled cakes.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- A long creaming makes a fine crumb. Beating the butter and sugar a full 5 minutes whips in the air that gives these little cakes their tender, bakery style texture.
- Self rising flour keeps it foolproof. The leavening is already evenly distributed through the flour, so every mini cake rises the same and no one bites into a baking powder pocket.
- Fresh zest beats juice for flavor. The orange oils live in the zest, two oranges worth perfumes the whole batter without thinning it the way juice would.
- Chocolate chips get stirred in last. A gentle fold with a spoon keeps the whipped structure intact and stops the chips from sinking to the bottom of the molds.
- Cooling bottoms up saves the shape. Flipping the cakes out immediately and cooling them upside down sets the fluted ridges cleanly instead of steaming them soggy in the pan.
- The glaze needs cool cakes. Pouring the chocolate glaze over fully cooled cakes lets it set into a glossy shell instead of soaking in and disappearing.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Everyone gets their own tiny showstopper cake, no slicing, no fighting over the corner piece.
- Orange and chocolate is a bakery flavor combination that tastes far fancier than the effort involved.
- They bake in half the time of a full bundt, quicker than our strawberry earthquake cake and twice as portable.
Key Ingredients
Simple baking staples plus two fresh oranges build the whole show.
- Self rising flour: Flour and leavening in one, it keeps the batter consistent across every little mold.
- Orange zest: The zest of two large oranges carries all the citrus perfume, keep the juice handy to loosen a thick batter.
- Chocolate chips: Little pockets of melty chocolate inside the orange crumb, flakes or chips both work.
- Room temperature butter and eggs: They whip into a smooth emulsion that traps air, the foundation of a tender crumb.
- Hazelnut spread: A spoonful stirred into the cocoa glaze makes it glossy, fudgy, and impossible to stop licking.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
The little molds welcome every flavor swap.
- Swap the orange zest for lemon zest and drizzle with a simple powdered sugar and lemon juice glaze.
- Use white chocolate chips with the orange zest for a creamsicle style combination.
- Add a teaspoon of cinnamon and swap the chips for chopped pecans for a coffee cake vibe.
- Skip the glaze and just shower them with powdered sugar for a simple afternoon tea cake.
- Want a full size stunner instead? Our hummingbird cake brings the same wow factor to a party table.
How to Make Mini Bundt Cakes
- Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla sugar, eggs one at a time, salt, and orange zest, mixing well after each addition.
- Add the milk and mix well, then add the flour and mix until fully incorporated with no clumps left. If the batter feels too thick, loosen it with a splash of fresh orange juice. Gently stir in the chocolate chips, then preheat the oven to 350 degrees and fill the mini bundt molds, setting them on a large baking sheet.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes, until golden and a toothpick comes out clean, without opening the oven for the first 10 minutes. Immediately turn the cakes out bottoms up and let them cool. Whisk the powdered sugar, cocoa, and milk until smooth, mix in the hazelnut spread, and pour the glaze over the cooled cakes, finishing with powdered sugar or sprinkles.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Grease every ridge of the molds. Mini bundt pans have tight flutes, a thorough butter and flour coating or baking spray is the difference between clean release and cake crumbs.
- Fill the molds two thirds full. Any more and the batter bakes over the edges, losing the pretty fluted shape.
- Do not open the oven early. The first 10 minutes set the rise, a cold draft collapses the domes.
- Test with a toothpick at 28 minutes. Mini pans vary, clean crumbs mean done, wet batter means 3 more minutes.
- Flip them out while hot. Waiting lets steam glue the cakes to the pan, immediate release keeps the ridges sharp.
- Thin glaze with drops, not pours. The glaze should ribbon off a spoon, add liquid a teaspoon at a time until it flows.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
These are dinner party gold, one glossy cake on each dessert plate with a curl of orange zest, as impressive as our better than sex cake with none of the slicing.
Set them out on a tiered stand for brunches and showers next to slices of italian love cake, the mini size keeps the dessert table grazing friendly.
A scoop of vanilla ice cream in the center well of a warm cake is a five minute restaurant dessert, and cozy bakers will want our gingerbread cake on rotation too.
Store glazed cakes in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. They freeze well unglazed for 2 months, thaw at room temperature and glaze fresh the day you serve.
Mini Bundt Cakes FAQs
About 30 minutes at 350 degrees for standard mini bundt molds. Start checking at 28 minutes with a toothpick, it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Smaller molds can finish closer to 22 to 25 minutes, so the toothpick is your real signal.
Grease every ridge of the pan thoroughly with softened butter and a dusting of flour, or use a baking spray with flour in it. Turn the cakes out immediately after baking while they are hot, waiting lets steam condense and glue the crumb to the pan.
Fill each mold about two thirds full. That leaves room for the rise so the cakes crown just to the top of the pan, keeping the fluted shape crisp and giving you a flat base once they are flipped.
Yes, this batter bakes as one full size bundt, just extend the baking time to roughly 40 to 50 minutes and test with a skewer. You can also use a muffin tin for about 20 to 22 minutes if you do not have mini bundt molds.
Keep glazed cakes in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze the unglazed cakes wrapped individually for up to 2 months, then thaw on the counter and glaze fresh before serving.
Yes, substitute each cup of self rising flour with a cup of all purpose flour plus 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and a quarter teaspoon of salt. Whisk it together well so the leavening distributes evenly through the batter.
Made these Mini Bundt Cakes? Leave a comment and a star rating below, I want to hear which glaze you picked!
Mini Bundt Cakes
Ingredients
- 4 Eggs room temperature
- 7 oz unsalted butter. room temperature
- 5 oz sugar
- 7 oz self rising flour
- zest from 2 large oranges you may need some of the juice too
- 1 cup milk
- Chocolate flakes or chips as preferred
- 1/3 oz baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 oz vanilla sugar
- Icing sugar to decorate
For the Chocolate glaze:
- 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons milk or water
- 1 tablespoon Nutella
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar using an electric mixer (about 5 minutes).
- Beat in vanilla sugar, eggs (one at a time), salt and orange zest; mix well.
- Add milk and mix well.
- Add flour and mix until fully incorporated, no clumps left. You should get a batter that is not too thick or watery. If you think it’s too thick add some orange juice until you’re happy with the texture.
- Add chocolate flakes/chips and gently stir with the tail of a tablespoon.
- Preheat the oven at 350 F
- Pour the mixture in the bundt cake molds. Place the molds in a large baking sheet.
- Transfer to the oven and bake on medium heat in the middle of your oven for about 30 min or until the cakes are golden (test with a toothpick to see if they’re done. If no batter sticks to the toothpick, then the cakes are done. Don’t open the oven on the first 10 minutes.
- Immediately transfer the cakes to a working surface, bottoms up. Leave to cool and meanwhile make the glaze.
For the Chocolate glaze:
- Whisk sugar with cocoa and water or milk until no clumps are left. Add Nutella and mix well. If you find the glaze too thick add a bit more water or milk.
- Pour over the cooled bundt cakes and drizzle some icing sugar and/or sprinkles if you want your cakes more festive.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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So sorry but I have never had to do any kind of transporting like that! Good luck!
These little cakes look and sound delicious. Do you have any thoughts on how to transport 80-100 of these iced cakes to a wedding reception. They are for my niece who is getting married in May
These little cakes are adorable! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!